Puzzle stopper for confectionery bottles



(No Model.)

Patented Peb. 18, 1896.

UNTTED STATES 'PATENT EETcE.

.IOIIN A. FERG, OF NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOHN A.SMITH, OF SAME PLACE.

PUZZLE-STOPPER FOR CONFECTIONERY-BOTTLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part ofl Letters Patent No. 554,920, datedFebruary 18, 1896.

Application filed September 4., 1895. Serial No. 561,445. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN ADAM FEEG, a citizen of the United, States,residing at Norfolk, in the county f Norfolk and State of Virginia, haveinvented a new Puzzle-Stopper for Confectionery-l3ottles, of which thefollowing is a specification.

I attain the results desired by the means which are illustrated in theaccompanying 1o drawings, in which- Figure l is a vertical section ofthe whole mechanism; Fig. 2, side, top, and bottom' views of the stopperproper; Fig. 3, a side View of key, and Fig. 4 a side and top view ofbushing.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Fig. 1: A represents the bottle, B the stopper, O the bushing, D thekey,and E a cap 2o covering key, the stopper, bushing, key, and

cap all being -full size.4

Fig. 2: B represents a side view, R a top view, and S a bottom view, ofthe stopper, which is turned of wood. The dotted lines of B show 2 5 yas a countersink to allow ring a of key, Fig. 3, to fall to either sideand reduce the height Vof cap; the vertical lines, thehole throughstopper in which bushing O of Fig. 4 is inserted a square recess orcountersink, and 3o z z grooves cut directly opposite each other andtapering from hole in which bushing is inserted to circumference ofsquare recess to allow tumblers ot key to fall through to bottom ofrecess, and thus avoiding unnecessary 3 5 length of key and play betweensquare recess a: and countersink y. The vertical dotted lines at fr showfull depth of square recess. The bottom of stopper vbeing larger thanmouth of bottle, it is cut into siX sections to allow inserting it intomouth of bottle, (the sections being shown in R and S,) a, b, and cbeing three equal sections, f and d two equal sections, and c a wedge orfinal section, the four cuts or lines of sections a, h, and c beingtothe center and the two cuts or lines of section e out of the center,as shown, the inner circumferencebeing larger than the outer, thesections f, a, b, c, and d being larger on the outer circumference. Thesections cut 5o in this way, with the hole in center of stopper, asshown, easily allows the insertion of the diierent parts into mouth ofbottle. In the bottom view S of Fig. 2, .e shows fullsize grooves, cutonly in wedge e and section b, through which tumblers of key fall. Thestopper, as shown in sectional view, Fig. l, is not intended to it toosnugly between top of bottle and the rounding or inner neck of bottle.

Fig. 3: D represents a full-size side view of 6o the key, which is `madeof iron; a, a loose ring; b, the tumblers, and c the pins on whichtumblers hinge. rThe ring is inserted into key loosely, so that it canfall to either side and reduce height of cap. The tumblers h b of key,as shown in Fig. l, are rounded on the upper and square on lowercorners, the holes in tumblers being close to upper round corners andheld in position by two rivets or pins c c, on which the tumblers hinge,the tum- 7o blers being so set and hinged that when bottle standsupright they can only fall in a hori zontal position to the bottoni ofrecess. The V-shaped portion of key directly above the tumblers is soshaped that when inserting the 7 5 key into the hole of stopper thetumblers which lie against it will very readily fall into position andAlock stopper. To unlock stopper and solve the puzzle, the bot-tle`mustbe turned upside down and key turned to taper- 8o grooves, when tumblerswill fall back to bushing, which can then be easily removed.

Fig. 4: C shows side and top views of a solid wooden bushing, the holein same being to admit key, which ts loosely. When key is 8 5 inposition in the hole of bushing, the ring is inserted into hole of theupper portion of key, thus holding the bushing and key together, the object of the bushing, as shown in Fig. l, being to hold the differentsections of stopper 9o firmly and also the key in its proper position.The space between bushing and square recess of stopper is to permittumblers of key to work freely.

Fig. l: E is a cap-piece, and is intended to conceal ring of key and tomake the whole look neater.

Having thus described the invention, I claiml. In a puzzle-stopper forbottles the coinroo bination of a stopper so turned as to fit the mouthor neck of the bottle, the top being eountersunk to admit a keyring tofall either wayto reduce height of cap, a solid ring `forniing a portionof the stopper with shoulder to rest on mouth of bottle, an enlargedbottom portion larger than the neck of the bottle, a round hole throughthe stopper with a square recess and two taper-grooves at the bottomopposite each other and tapering from the round hole to thecircumference of the recess, said taper being su Hicient to allow thetumblers of the key to fall through easily and en gage in said recess,substantially as described.

2. In a puzzle-stopper for bottles the combination of a stopper providedwith a longitudinal opening, a stopper-bushing adapted to rest on thetop of the bottle forholdin g the stopper and having taper-grooves, akey provided with a ring and two tumblers loosely attached to the keywith pins, thus allowing the tumblers to assume a horizontal positionwhen the bottle stands upright, said key passing through the holes inthe stopper substantially as described.

JOHN A. FERG.

lVitnesscs:

GEO. D. FRIZZELL, ALLAN MASON.

